I didn't do much in Joburg, except for meet some very interesting people. I went for breakfast with Kevin, who is a lovely guy, but didn't seem to be entirely with us. He had a habit of collecting rubbish from the side of the street and commenting how useful it was (eg. some discarded orange peel would make herbal tea, or old car parts would make an excellent bangle etc.) However, Kevin did make a lovely bracelet in exchange for breakfast! Gail is very intelligent and interesting, though I can't say I agree entirely with her New Age beliefs. I'm not convinced that St Gerome, an alchemist, and formerly "the Wonderman of Europe", is in reality a re-incarnation of Jesus Christ. I still have a bottle of Sean's (from Ireland) NASA formulated "Liquid Acceleration" energy drink in the fridge. It does pep you up!
On the whole, though, I found Johannesburg to be too scarey. With all the razor wire and electric wire fences, high walls, security cameras, and signs warning of "armed response", along with the warnings not to walk after dark and avoid certain places, I found it was too much like a city "under seige". I didn't see or experience any trouble personally, but the newspaper and television news attested to it.
There's heaps to do and see around the coast of South Africa. Below is a selection of photos.
Outdshoorn is the ostrich capital of the world. There are more ostriches here than the rest of the world put together! So of course I went on a tour, got an "ostrich massage" (to get an ostrich massage you hold a bucket of corn to your chest, and the ostriches' long necks massage your neck and shoulders), and had an ostrich ride.
In Knysna (along the Garden Route) we went sea kayaking. There were dolphins swimming around, as well as a colony of inquisitive seals that lived out on the point.
I did my first real mountain biking down Table Mountain, in CapeTown (notice that the clouds cover the mountain plateau like a table cloth), as well as climb the mountain on foot. This was great fun, although I lost the hiking trail and wandered around for four hours! However, the "kloofing" (i.e. canyoning) was even better! We hiked into "Suicide Gorge", and then followed the river down the gorge for some kilometres. As we progressed, we had to jump off cliffs that got progressively higher (between 5m and 16m high), or else slide down waterfalls. I didn't take the camera, due to everything getting soaking wet, but I had a ball. This was a very enjoyable way to spend a hot day.
A colony of African Jackass Penguins live out near the Cape of Good Hope.